Dark Saturday

Spring sprung a few days ago although the it was shown on the calendar a couple weeks ago. Spring is a time of renewal, refreshment and it is brings the remembrance of an historical event: Easter. An event that is also personal for me and those who have trusted in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Some prefer calling Easter Resurrection Day, for without the resurrection of Jesus, our faith is futile. He promised the impossible and He kept His promise. No one has affected human kind as Jesus did. Last night was Good Friday. It was a somber day of remembrance yet can we truly imagine the pain, suffering, humiliation, grief and sadness Jesus experienced for us, out of His love for us? To be so overwhelmed with the stress of what was to come and sweat blood? Yes, yesterday was Good Friday...good for us because Jesus was our once and for all substitute for our sins, for my sins. Isaiah 53:5-9, reads that He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! (I am healed!) All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's path to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the guilt and sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, He did not open His mouth. From prison and trial they led Him away to His death. But who among the people realized that He was dying for their sins-that He was suffering their punishment? He had done no wrong, and He never deceived anyone. But He was buried like a criminal; He was put in a rich man's grave. It must have been a dark time for the disciples. They must have felt devastated, lost, heartbroken, worried, sad and scared. They lost their Lord, their friend, their teacher, leader, brother, son...they didn't really know what to do next. They did not realize that their (Psalm 30:5b) weeping may go on all night, but joy comes with the morning. (Isaiah 61:3a) to all who mourn in Israel, He will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. (Jeremiah 31:13b) the Lord will turn their mourning into joy. He will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing. Sunday was just around the corner and Jesus was coming back. Even on the darkest day we can trust that God has Sunday's hope and celebration on the way. He has hope for us. He has joy for us. If we can just hold on to the truth of Easter, we can make it through whatever Saturday may bring. Hebrews 10:35-37, 39 & 11:1 reads Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that He has promised. For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. But we are not like those who turn their backs on God and seal their fate. We have faith that assures our salvation. What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. Jesus is Hope because every promise of God is fulfilled in Him. Jesus is Joy because in Him swells all God's fullness. Jesus is Love because He gave Himself without reservation. In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3) God wants us to be wholly His, so He can be wholly ours. What an amazing exchange, our selfishness for His love, our sin for His holiness, our own way for His perfect will, our strive for His peace, our pain for His healing, our bondage for His freedom. Be forever grateful as you celebrate Resurrection Day!